382 A Plm for Sea Fisheries. I iiai'T. xxvi. 



Sharks are largely eaten as it is, and they might be much more 

 freely caught and utilized to the benefit of both the capturers and 

 the fishery. 



32. Given their fertility, the next question is then fertile area. 

 Taking the lineal measurement of our Indian shores, how far out 

 may they be held to be' fertile ? As they are untried fields, 1 can 

 only go back to the analogy of our English fisheries, of which more 

 is known. There they have near-shore fishing and deep-sea 

 tNhing, net and line fishing of every description from the very 

 shore outwards. The question is how far out ? Trawlers of different 

 descriptions fish at different depths, and I find it in evidence 

 in the same Blue Book that deep trawlers fish in water of 23 to 

 24 fathoms, and the Dogger bank is girdled in their Chart by a 

 20 fathoms line of soundings. 



33. On this I have taken a marine Chart of the Indian Coasts, 

 and commencing from above Kurachi on the West, going round 

 Cape Comorin, not Ceylon, to beyond the mouths of the Ganges 

 on the East, I have at every degree taken the distance out to sea, 

 at which I find marked sounding from 20 to 24 fathoms. I have 

 generally been nearer 20 than 24 fathoms, always erring on the 

 side of moderation. Then adding up their total and striking an 

 average, I find it gives me an average distance out to sea of 

 26 English miles. But as I found my average very much swollen 

 by certain exceptional localities, in which for about 250 miles in 

 length it was necessary to go 46, 57, 80, and 89 English miles out 

 to sea before the 24 fathoms depth could be reached, I considered 

 it fairer to a general average that these exceptional localities should 

 be thrown out. This reduced my average to 14 English miles. 



34. These measurements are from latitude 8° to latitude 26° 

 on the West Coast, and from latitude 8° to latitude 21° on the 

 East Coast. I have no means of carrying them further ; but the 

 area is sufficiently extended to make it fairly applicable to all India 

 and Burmah. 



35. But trawlers ply on soft sandy bottoms not rock, and 

 though I believe that with few exceptions there is Bandy bottom all 

 round our Indian Coasts, still 1 prefer to be rid of the possible 

 objection by a liberal concession. On the bare possibility I will 

 throw oil' a belt of two miles all round the const, which amounts 

 to an area of 9,222 square miles ; albeit, this should not in fairness 



